Saturday, August 13, 2005

Weekend News

House Speaker Tom Craddick went into the 2003 legislative session with such firm control over the House that by session's end, even those Republicans who resented his iron fist nonetheless let him use it.

"I'm just drinking the Kool-Aid," one moderate Republican defensively grumbled at the time.

On the Senate side, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst took over as that body's presiding officer in January 2003, and not a senator made any overt move to diminish his powers, more of which are granted by the Senate rules than the constitution.

By the end of that session, Dewhurst was given high marks by surprised observers. They said he'd exhibited more bipartisan leadership than anyone else in the capitol.

That was then. This is now. And both leaders, while not in complete danger of losing their clout, there are definite signs that a growing number of legislators are beginning to rebel against their top-down management styles.

Here is the point that everyone needs to understand and all acts thereafter are transparent: There simply is not enough support to pass a tax bill. Members know this fact. The leadership knows this fact.

Unfortunately so much of this session has been more about primary or future political agendas than about the immediate needs of our state or its school children. This session died a private death before it even started.

What remains in todays headlines is the blame game plain and simple. When this is all over "like tears in the rain" it will all be lost in time.